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wigit wrote:
on the Blue GT the alloys are 7J and ET38, based on the 6.5J and ET47 stated in the advert the wheels outer edge site 15mm further in and the indide edge 3mm further in. I use a wheel calculator
This is not exactly right, the offset of beetle/golf 16" is ET42, compared to a GTI wheel they are 'within the width' of the stock wheel so no clearance issues. The online calculator confirms what I found from my drawing - 10mm extra inside clearance and 2mm less poke, give or take adds up to 1/2". 7j-6.5j=1/2"...
funlovincriminal wrote:What about 205/55R 16 x 6.5 on a gti, found a good deal for some.
After putting the figures into willtheyfit.com it comes up with therse results:
Comparing standard gti (Old 215/40/17 x 7)
With steels (New 205/55/16 x 6.5)
Old New
Diameter 603.8mm 631.9mm
Circumference 1896.9mm 1985.2mm
Poke 43.9mm 37.6mm
Inset 133.9mm 127.6mm
Speedo error 0% -4.45%
Reading at 30mph 30mph 28.67mph
Reading at 60mph 60mph 57.33mph
Ride height gain 0mm 14.05mm
Arch gap loss 0mm 14.05mm
-4.45% spedo error is quite large & 14.05mm bigger all round seems too much do you think?
I've got some VW Beetle 5x100 steels (pretty sure they are 6.5") with 2x 205/46/16 Kumho snow tyres and 2x 205/45/16 normal cheap tyres. Buy 2 more snow tyres and you have a full set of winters?
Very nice. I have given my 16s a flash over with the satin black so they are ready to go. I haves also got a set of 195/50/16 hankook part-worns (!) on the way to see if winters are worth it before splashing it on a decent set.
What exactly are you checking re bolts? Length and radius/taper I guess? Pleas elet me know the outcome. I'm expecting to use the standard bolts as they are both vw wheels so should be radius.
wigit wrote:i want to double check lengths and taper given alloy to steel, I'm expecting they are the same given you use the same bolts for the space saver
bolts are identical for steel and alloys having checked with my parts department, all be it i have ordered a spare set of oem bolts, did a trial fit today of the front as wanted to make sure they cleared the callipers (wheels are for GTI/GT) and yes they do
its going to be no looker with these on but bought purely for function, only problem with winters is when you get stuck behind someone who hasn't got them
wigit, good choice there I'd reckon, only thing is, did you check up on Mytyres for a price for steels with winter tyres fitted before going down that route? I bought a set of 14" steels and 185/55 Michelin Alpin A3 a few years ago (from Mytyres) for my wife's 2002MY Polo 9N 1.4 SE and they are excellent and wear has been minimal - which is more than I had expected - to the point that these wheels and tyres might outlast the car! The Alpin A4 are even better as they have more "lugs" per wheel than the Alpin A3 had. One thing, maybe to keep the wheels cleanish etc think about buying some wheel covers, I bought a set of secondhand VW Golf ones via ebay as I wanted some that looked reasonable but did not cost a fortune. Now, in case you didn't know, these small square holes around the wheel seem to be for securing the (Polo) wheel covers, if like me you end up buying Golf etc covers, they will not have these fixings on them, but will have the old style lugs that will clip into the outer edge of the wheel - and they will also have some supplementary extra method of retaining these covers which will stop them fitting these wheels (these extra fittings locate around the bolt holes so no good for Polo PCD), but if you have a Dremel etc, it is just a case of cutting this part down by about 1/2 inch to clear the bolt heads. These Golf covers have stayed on these wheels okay for four winters - so that means that they are okay.
Remember these winter tyres are also good when the road is covered by surface water, something that premium summer tyres are not. I'd reckon that I will be swopping tyres on both cars by the end of this month to avoid getting caught out and to make sure the alloys miss getting salted!
On the topic of speed rating, it is generally considered that lower speed rating is okay for winter use, and that tends to be the only ratings generally offered by premium tyre manufacturers - though the cheapy Carlos Fandango brands tend to offer original speed ratings and sizes - neither based on what is needed or is handy in winter.
You will be correct wrt wheel fixing bolts, one thing though, you might find that on initial fitting, is that the pressed steel wheel centres might distort/deform slightly - but after that they will stay as is - well that is what I discovered and was initially a bit concerned!
i was going to use Mytyres, however, their website did not state who made their steel wheels and customer services took about three days to respond, as it turns out they are KFZ which i wanted given they were tuv approved, there loss, mate of mine is a tyre fitter so i'm still honours even
i'm not fussed about hub caps, rather keep them exposed, i'll just make sure some protection is applied, the Alpins seemed best solution given the speed rating i wanted
